Here is something I have found to be a common thread among hardgainers, many are horribly out of shape. They simply have no general fitness base to speak of. They then hit the gym in an attempt to turn their frail bodies into a mound of muscle, and fall flat on their faces. Many tolerate high workloads well. I am here to tell you many have a hard time recovering from only 3-6 hard work-sets a workout. Part of this stems from their lack of fitness. In today’s modern world, and especially in America, most people are just plain sedentary. Sitting on your ass all day long and then expecting great things to happen in your body from just a 45-minute anaerobic workout a few times a week is asking a lot. Not that it doesn’t work, but frankly it works better if you have a good general fitness base.

But the hard part, and the part that makes most people decide to neglect it is the fact that when done incorrectly Cardio, and HIT Cardio WILL hamper progress, and the myth (if implemented CORRECTLY) that it will interfere with potential gains. Lets look at first the myth, then the facts, then some ideas about how to negate the potential impact to gains, and how to implement a program that will HELP your gains.

So many believe that doing any type of cardio at all will interfere with there potential gains that they just will not even attempt it. They sit on their lazy asses as much as humanly possible under the assumption that any activity outside the gym will be detrimental to gaining muscle when it fact, having a solid fitness base (GPP=general physical preparedness) will in fact help one with gains.

One reason it is so ingrained is most everyone know at least a couple of people that decided to cut, or get into shape and they went full-blown, all-out on it and squished their recovery and thus their gains. Going from couch potato to marathon runner in three weeks is just a dumb idea, yet this is about how many make the transition to becoming fitter, or dropping body-fat. It is made all the worse when diet isn’t spot-on, and well…lets just be charitable and state its not usually even close.

If done correctly, as in intensity level not too high, duration not too long, and frequency not too often, anyone can get into better shape if they approach it on an incremental scale. This means starting out VERY conservatively. If you are one of those people that gets winded walking across the room, the right way to start is by simply walking for 15-20 minutes at a reasonably pace. That is all you need for now to begin. Once this is accomplished, or if you at least already have a slight fitness base the next step is to add something of a higher intensity. All that know me are certain I am going to recommend the dragging sled, and they would be correct, but even if the sled is not an option, a treadmill on an incline, an elliptical machine, or even swimming will work well. Better substitutes are pushing a wheelbarrow, carrying a sandbag, or a fast hike with a weighted back-pack, or weighted vest. I often sprint up my mountain behind my house. And yes, sprints are OK IF you are not too heavy. These should be times 1-minute sprints, 1 minute walking.

How to start? 5-10 minutes NO MORE!! Do your high intensity cardio (PREFERABLY WITH A SLED PULLING NO MORE THAN 100-135 INCLUDING SLED WEIGHT) for NO MORE THAN 5-10 minutes NO MORE THAN TWICE A WEEK TO START! After one month, if you started at 5, go to 10 minutes, if you started at 10, go to 15. Do that for at least another month before the next progression. Keep going until you are doing two 20-25 minute sessions twice a week. You will be in a LOT better shape at this point. And if diet was up to the task your training will not have been impacted much if at all. Now you can make the decision to add another session or two a week if you want. If you are a hardgainer, I would keep it at two 20 minute sessions. If not, you can experiment with more, and if/when you get to the point where the weights suffer, back off.

What will this do for the hardgainer? You will likely find that you recover better from your workouts and MOST will find after 3-6 months of this, they can add SLIGHTLY more volume (SOME A LOT) to their workouts productively.

Hardgainer or not, EVERYONE should be in shape. Gains will be better as long as you are not doing too much, too frequently. No one ever dies because their arms are not big enough. Thousands die every year because their cardio-vascular systems are so damn weak.

sled is coming this summer for me. i'm gonna start messing around with a GPP circuit 2-3x a week. mostly stair runs, burpees, mountain climbers, and some sort of scorpion movement. followed by dynamic stretching, foam roller/pvc back stuff

Cardio also helps with latic acid. So if you lifting heavy you should be running too.

Most people cut with food, but the best way to cut is with cardio and blanced diet. No reason you should be eating 5000cals and then cut food down to 1800cals because you have a gut. You will lose most if not all your gains.

sled is coming this summer for me. i'm gonna start messing around with a GPP circuit 2-3x a week. mostly stair runs, burpees, mountain climbers, and some sort of scorpion movement. followed by dynamic stretching, foam roller/pvc back stuff

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sounds like what I want to work up to... figure for right now I'll do 2x/week jogging, 2x/week sled dragging & misc other gpp stuff. I hate cardio, I think this will work much better.

General Physical Preparedness: The missing link in strength training
By Bryan Mann
EliteFTS.com

Many times athletes will get so caught up in the idea of trying to get stronger that they forget about everything else. They may work out every day, feel strong and think that they’re in great shape, but they can’t walk across the room without having to stop and catch their breath. This is puzzling to the athlete who has put in so many hours of training to be in “such great shape.” Many injuries happen because one variable is left out, things begin to stagnate, and soon after that the athlete gets hurt. This is where General Physical Preparedness training (GPP) often can help.

General Physical Preparedness training is not a style of training like periodization or the conjugate method; it is a component of training. “GPP training serves several functions: 1) the formation, strengthening or restoration of habits (skills) which play an auxiliary, facilitory role in sports perfectioning. 2) As a means of educating abilities, developed insufficiently by the selected type of sport, raising the general work capacity or preserving it. 3) As active rest, assisting the restoration processes after significant, specific loading and counteracting the monotony of the training. These functions define the role of the general-preparatory exercises in the athlete’s training system.” (Medvedeyev, 1988)

If a coach becomes too concerned with one aspect of training, the athletes will get out of balance and either get injured or suffer from burn out. GPP helps prevent imbalances and boredom with both specific and non-specific exercises by conditioning the body to work (Verkoshanksy, 1988). The greater the athlete’s GPP, the easier it will be for them to adapt to the exercises and demands of a sport (Bompa, 1999).

GPP work can be done many different ways. One of the most common ways is to use a weighted sled (Simmons, Tate). There are many different ways to drag a sled, and several articles have been written on the different variations on the sled, so only the basics will be discussed here.

The sled towing can be done in two different intervals, in measurements of time and distance. When dragging the sled for time, usually you will tow for two minutes in one style, rest 30 seconds, tow for two minutes in a different style, and repeat until your time is achieved (Tate). For example, tow by dragging the sled forwards for two minutes, then turn around and drag the sled while walking backwards for two minutes, then laterally for two minutes. Often times people start out dragging for about 14-15 minutes and work up to 20-30 minutes. The time doesn’t increase after you achieve the desired fitness level of dragging a weight for that amount of time, instead of increasing the amount of time, you increase the amount of weight.

Dragging for distance is done for 200 feet (Simmons), stop, rest (if the exercise will be changed, do so now) then repeat the distance. At the rest point, changing the style of dragging is optional. An athlete can change exercises each rep, as explained earlier, in the same manner as explained in time or do all reps in the same style.

If the dragging is done in place of a max effort exercise on the max effort lower day, the distance is cut down to 100 feet and more weight is used. Every trip, you will add more weight onto the sled until the sled cannot be dragged for the full 100 feet.

For many programs, a sled may not be affordable to purchase. However, they are very simple to build. But you can easily improvise instead of building one. All that is really needed is a place to add weight and a way to pull the sled. You can easily improvise a sled by using an old tire, a long piece of rope, a piece of plywood, and some weights. Lay the tire down flat and tie the rope to it. Next, place the plywood in the bottom of the tire giving it a platform a base for adding weight. Now, simply put weight in the tire, tie a rope around your stomach and go to work.

GPP can be trained with various implements, very similar to the Strongman events. A vehicle push, tire flip, farmers walk, wheelbarrow push, plate carries, various implement carries, etc.

The vehicle push can be done by gradually building up, and you can save money by using the athletes’ or coaches’ vehicles. Start out with something small like a little Toyota, and then progress to larger and larger vehicles. If large SUV’s or trucks get too easy, just start putting people in them. It’s nothing fancy, just hard work.

Another cheap and easy idea is the tire discus throw, this idea was given to me by Russell Traphagan at Parkview High School in Springfield, Missouri. Take an old (or new) tire out to the football field, and simply hurl it like you would a discus. Repeat until you get to the end of the field, work up to about three trips. Another idea from Traphagan is to take a 45-pound plate, place it on a towel on the floor, get on all fours and push it. Keep the distance, reps, and sets the same as towing. If this gets too easy make it more challenging by placing 2-25 pound plates on two towels so there will be more stabilization used to push each plate individually.

The tire flip is done just like on the World’s Strongest Man Competition. Simply bend down, pick up a large tractor tire (500lbs minimum) and flip it over. This is a full body exercise. This is one of the few exercises that can actually cost something, if you cannot get it donated by a tire store or an old tire from a farmer. The tires don’t wear out very quickly, so it might be tough to get.

The Farmers Walk is a very simple exercise; take a heavy set of dumbbells and walk with them. Always try to push the athletes to use more weight on this as soon as they can get done what is prescribed. The equipment is there for this if you already own dumbbells, so it is easy to implement into your workout.
If the weight room has Olympic platforms with semi- or completely rubberized plates, simply pick these up on the edges and walk with them to perform a version of a farmers walk called a plate carry. Wheelbarrow pushes and pulls are another good GPP exercise, and will probably cost nothing as many athletes or their parents will have a wheelbarrow in their garage. You can load up the wheelbarrow with either plates or objects and go to town. Not only does this work GPP, but will fry the grip and hamstrings of the athlete as well.

Finally are the various implement carries. Maybe an athlete or coach has an old engine block in their garage, or a huge stone in their back yard, or maybe they have an old oxen yolk in their attic. Be creative with this and use your imagination. The implement lifts should be used to have fun and eliminate boredom during GPP training. One thing to remember though is that you don’t want to hurt anyone, so if it has sharp edges or objects sticking out, either round them, get rid of them, or forget about the implement all together. Watch the Strong Man Competitions and maybe it will give you an idea. Just because they use a $3,000 anchor to tow doesn’t mean you can’t use an old engine block on a rope. It doesn’t have to be expensive to be fun.

Be creative, and do it for a set time or distance. Maybe it’s two minutes, and just try to beat the distance each time. Maybe do it for a set distance and try and beat the time. Maybe do some sort of combination of events like a relay. Just try to keep it interesting, and go no more than two minutes. Going for longer than two minutes will begin tapping into the aerobic energy system. If you want to do aerobics, join a health club or buy a pair of running shoes.

A common way to train GPP is with Javoreks complexes (Javorek, 2000). They are all combinations of Olympic and explosive exercises designed to increase GPP, lactic acid threshold, and induce hypertrophy.

When training GPP with complexes, do multiple sets (start out with three and work up to six). As with the towing, when you achieve the upper limit on volume (number of sets) increase the intensity (amount of weight).

Currently the current most common way of doing GPP is through bodyweight exercises (Davies, 2001). Exercises such as squats, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, jumping rope, different jumps, pushups, sit ups, and just about anything that can be thought of can be done. They are set up in one of two fashions. Either they are performed for a set time or a set number of reps and sets. Again, this is another free or dirt-cheap way to work on GPP.

When an exercise is performed for a set time, the repetitions are done non-stop until the time is completed. There is also a set rest interval. For instance, a good starting point is 30 seconds on, 60 seconds off. Start with three sets of four exercises. To increase the workload, one of three things can be done: increase the number of sets, decrease the rest time, or increase the work time. You eventually want to build up to ten minutes of work time. The beauty of this style of training is that it leaves you the freedom to be able to be creative. Let your mind go and come up with something fun.

In conclusion, General Physical Preparedness will be what more athletes and coaches turn to for the edge on their competition in the near future. By using implements, weights, and bodyweight, a athlete can teach their body to go for long times through strenuous exercise at a moments notice. Teams such as the Green Bay Packers in the NFL have already begun to do it and have gotten excellent results by being able to out-play the other team in the fourth quarter.

Shugart: It's been said that athletes training for pure strength and power should probably do no cardio at all since cardiovascular exercise can interfere with strength development. Agree or disagree?

Alessi: Disagree. As mentioned previously, for in-season training, one forty-minute cardio session every six days will maintain optimal VO2 levels while strength and power are being maximized. This is more important in Olympic lifting than powerlifting or bodybuilding.

Staley: All absolute statements are faulty, and this one's no exception. From my experience, measured amounts of aerobic work (like twenty minutes every three to four days) can improve recovery. Think about it this way: intense muscular efforts (heavy weight training) can be viewed as "anti-circulatory" (because intense muscular contractions can temporarily shut off the muscle's own blood supply), so mild aerobic exercise can
counter this and facilitate recovery.

Shugart: Interesting point. Thib?

Thibaudeau: Well, it all depends on the type of "cardio" we're talking about and the capacities of the athlete. A super-heavyweight powerlifter or Olympic lifter who loads heavy on squats would be ill advised to go out jogging for thirty to sixty minutes, that is unless he has a spare pair of knees at home!

However, I feel that most strength athletes would benefit from getting into better general shape. Most powerlifters and Olympic lifters have a very low work capacity. It’s true! As a result, it's much harder for them to recover from a certain training load. On the other hand, a super conditioned athlete can handle a much higher volume of strength work. The more strength work you do without overtaxing your body, the more you’ll progress.

Most powerlifters at my gym cringe when they see the program that my hockey players do. Most of them couldn't finish half the weekly workouts! But not only do my players finish every session, they progress at every session. Why? Simply because they're well conditioned! Their bodies are used to handling physical stress. So they can do more strength work, they recover faster, and thus they progress faster. Most of my players will put on anywhere from 50 to 100 pounds on their squat, bench press, and power clean in four months of training. Some have even improved more than that!

So in that regard, I believe that it’s important, even for a pure strength athlete, to get in good shape. Now, the choice of activity will depend on the athlete. I find that sprint work with short intervals and sled dragging are the two best options for strength athletes.

Dr. Lowery: Overall, I agree. At least in terms of treadmill, stepper, cycling, distance swimming, etc. We're back to the specificity principle here: committing one's physical resources toward different stimuli and presumably very different adaptations leaves less for pure strength. These individuals are probably better served by cyclical volume training with moderately heavy weights and "accessory work" in the name of overall conditioning.

please note that those complex workouts (Mann's article, Cosgrove's etc...) are a full workout in themselves. A GPP circuit like you will find in my log or sled dragging, etc is great for off days. putting a complex in on one of your off days is just like having a full workout that day